The Gazebo Bar,

Bangkok.

I had a few hours between me and a plane flight home and daybreak on Monday, yesterday, so the Gazebo it was. I'd been flyered for it three times, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and a little of my money.

I ended up spending a little more than I had planned to. I met Gyo (like 'G' g, not me 'Guy' hard g) there. Better, she met me. She came right up from nowhere and draped on me a little at an empty bar and started talking. She was there with a bunch of international students. They were having the time of their lives. I'd only bargained for a couple of gin and tonics and Gyo met me.

She was an outrageous flirt, pinching a half dozen fags from a Dutch man's packet and stuffing them in her empty packet for the cost of a few well placed words. I still can't really remember his name nor read his e-mail, scribbled on a bar napkin, but hers is clear and bold, right above 'GYo' and 'Lol'. The flirt.

She was bi, from Shanghai, recently split from a boyfriend, and recently split from a girlfriend. She had a rough cut bob and the skimpiest skirt and was flitting all over the bar.

I had been looking forward to getting back to work, in a weird, Japanese way. But after the Gazebo bar and Gyo, I didn't really want to go anywhere. Tokyo outside from the KeiSei line back in was grey, and cold like I'd forgot it would be. All the Japanese people were guarded and quiet, all the foreigners had the same look of, 'You here too?' and all inside I felt a bit of a mess like Bubble and squeak.